A wide variety of merchandise is displayed and dispensed using support hooks which protrude from a mounting surface, so as to extend toward a customer. Frequently, the merchandise is carried on a card or backing member which has a hole at an edge portion for threading along the hook. Often times, the hooks are elongated so as to accommodate a plurality of articles. At times, an array of hooks is presented to a customer, each hook containing a plurality of like articles. The customer can quickly scan the articles arranged on the hooks and, upon locating a desired item, can slide the article off the hook for checkout. Unfortunately, an alarming number of instances have been reported in which the hook, and often times its entire contents, are removed from the mounting surface, presumably for unauthorized removal from the premises. A need has therefore arisen to prevent such unauthorized removal of hooks and related display and dispensing structures.